A rebellion project, a cultural revolution that speaks to the Calabrians to instill in them the desire for redemption, to reclaim the pride of being Calabrian, a positive madness that speaks above all to young people, to the children of Calabria. It is the soul of the project «Favuriti», presented by the entrepreneur Nino De Masi within the framework of “Trame”the Festival of books on anti-mafia which will liven up the center of Lamezia Terme for the whole week.
De Masi, who challenged the gangs from Gioia Tauro and who has been living under guard for years because of the attacks he suffered, does not want to present himself as a hero, but as “a citizen who did his part when it was necessary to do it”, and with the «Favuriti» project – which winks, right from the name, to the most authentic Calabrian roots linked to hospitality and humanity – wants to look above all at the beauty of its land. At his side, on stage, the journalist Pietro Comito as an acute and stimulating moderator and the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, who gives his approval to De Masi’s cultural project and who also supported the entrepreneur’s bill in his name, the “De Masi” law, which favors and accompanies all those who report against crime. «Thanks also on behalf of the many entrepreneurs who want to rebel and who perhaps are afraid to do so» continues De Masi in front of a large audience in Piazza San Domenico «with President Occhiuto I launched the idea of this law which accompanies people to denounce , making it clear that those who report are not infamous, but rather people to be emulated, a bearer of freedom.”
And regarding the new project De Masi asked himself «what else to do for this land, for my people, I am neither a victim nor a loser, I am a fighter, a person who tries in all possible ways to give a future better to my children, it is from this perspective that Favuriti was born.” There are many ideas in the pipeline, from projects for young people to scholarships, up to a large Calabrian expo in which to concentrate all the excellence of a region from which De Masi does not want to escape: «Favuriti’s slogan is “Who you belong to ?” and I want to say it out loud: I belong to Calabria, to the light, to the flavours, to the smells, to the beauty, to my people, I’m not here to talk about the ‘ndrangheta but to talk about us, about you, let’s wake up our kids” .
President Occhiuto also had a spirit of pride and struggle, having already said he was proud of the De Masi law and of having convinced the government not to challenge it. «If the institutions make an example of what the mafia would like to condemn to isolation and civil death – he underlines – then we have the best way to fight those who would like to socially kill dissent. I understood that the mafia has two ways of killing people, the first by shooting, the second by sentencing them to civil death, making them lose hope of being able to lead a normal life. It is the duty of the institutions to stay close to those who have the courage to rebel.” Then, praise for Trame and for the numerous young people who are animating it, young people who tell of a Calabria that rebels, precisely, that is no longer afraid of the ‘Ndrangheta.
«I tear myself apart to convince entrepreneurs to invest in Calabria» continues Occhiuto «and I clash with those who are prejudiced against it, but Trame and De Masi are telling a story of rebellion, resistance and hope, in my small way I have to do my duty: doing one’s duty is perhaps the greatest act of rebellion.”
Trame’s busy meetings continue in the streets of Lamezia, with an appointment also at the city Court together with its president, Giovanni Garofalo, and the Public Prosecutor Salvatore Curcio. And again, the Ecomafie report, with Stefano Ciafani and Anna Parretta of Legambiente who anticipate some disturbing data on illegal construction: Calabria among the regions most affected by the phenomenon, with a growth of 20% in 2023 compared to 2022. There is also space for the 2024 “Mafia & & Drugs” report, with Umberto Santino, followed by a lectio by Davide Grippa on Giacomo Matteotti and the presentation of Gigi Riva’s latest book.
Finally, the anthropological visions – proving a precise sense of “memory” and the reflection on identity, nostalgia and future that Trame wants to carry forward – with two dedicated meetings, the first with Mauro Francesco Minervino around his book on Monte Cocuzzo and the second with Vito Teti and his anthropology of “Restanza”, that now increasingly accredited codification with which the anthropologist Teti brings a reflection that is also civil, visionary but concrete in reiterating that “right to remain” which can and perhaps it should inspire a new sense of place. Also, therefore, a new sense of Calabria.